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42  “Shhhhhh . . . be quiet, don’t say anything; he’s coming already, get ready to sing,” shouted Reyna, a first-generation Filipina American and the organizer of the party. As we all crouched down, Stan Estrada, a first-generation Filipino American and the guest of honor, entered the restaurant with his first-generation Filipina American wife Cheryl. The crowd met them with a rousing “Surprise” followed by a loud round of “Happy Birthday” or Maligayang bati (Ta), sung by some in English and others in Tagalog. The occasion was Stan’s sixtieth birthday . The celebration also marked his official early retirement from a long career in the energy field. The small Mediterranean restaurant was packed with some fifty-plus people, both Filipino and non-Filipino. Affectionately known as Tito (Ta, Uncle) Stan by friends and family alike, some attendees came to celebrate Stan’s birthday. Others also came to honor a man they believe has had a profound impact on their lives and their community. As people began to take their seats and wait for further directions on how to proceed to the buffet, the room revealed itself to be more than a simple birthday party. It was a coming together of a vast set of social networks in which Stan is only one of its key members. The seating arrangement in the restaurant was completely open. However, many people clustered around tables of their family , closest friends, and the groups or associations that are most important to them. At one end of the room sat Stan’s family, biological or otherwise. These are his closest friends, his children and their children, his godchildren and their children, and those with whom he has shared some of the most important and intimate moments of his adult life. We might call this Stan’s barangay, but it is also something more. In the middle of this group, bridging Stan’s familial circle and crossing it, were members of Bibingka. This is Stan’s weekly prayer and fellowship group. The couples in Bibingka have been together for over forty years. From their early years of adjusting to life in America to the raising of their c h a p t e r 3 COMMUNITY OF COMMUNITIES Community of Communities 43 children and the birth of grandchildren, these couples have been a vital part of what Stan considers to be his family and community. Behind Bibingka sat members of Stan’s Catholic church, St. Catherine’s. Some of these parishioners knew Stan from their fellowship at the church. Others had worked with him on various parish activities. Next to his fellow parishioners sat members of the Texas Association of Mapua Alumni, of which Stan is a member , as well as members of the Texas alumni of the University of Santo Thomas, where Cheryl went to college.1 Beyond this, the tables were a mix of people and groups. At one table sat members of the Our Lady of Lourdes prayer group and members of Couples for Christ (CFC), another Catholic renewal group with which Stan and Cheryl recently got involved. Next to them was a table with members from the Knights of Rizal, Philippine American Masons Association of Texas (PAMAT), the Tagalog Association of Texas, the Bicol USA Association, the Asian Pacific American Heritage Association, the Philippine Nurses Association of Metropolitan Houston, and the Filipino American Council of South Texas (FACOST). Stan and Cheryl are members of many of these groups, as are other people who were sitting at other tables. While I could only make note of groups and individuals I knew in the crowd, the party was probably even more diverse than I could ascertain. As people worked their way through the buffet line and began to eat, at Cheryl’s urging, it was a clear reminder of how central food is to any Filipino gathering.2 People were enjoying their meal and waiting for the PowerPoint presentation that was being cued up by Stan’s two sons. The room was festive and echoed with laughter. Casual conversation and in some cases intense debate, on everything from the current state of politics in the Philippines to the curious absence of Filipino food at the party, could be overheard. On one table various business cards and brochures from different groups and companies competed for space. On another table, a sizable display provided literature for Gawad Kalinga, a housing project for the poor in the Philippines.3 “Again, can I have your...

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